Tunisia beach attack: Tourism industry to face tough times

A man kisses the Tunisian flag at the site of the Sousse shootingsGetty

The tourism industry in Tunisia is to face tough times after the Isis-inspired beach attack in Sousse on 26 June, which came just over three months after the attack on the Bardo museum in the country's capital Tunis.

The beach attack, which saw extremist Seifeddine Rezgui kill at least 38 people, of which up to 30 were Britons, in a violent shooting, has made Tunisia a place Western tourists want to avoid, despite the fact the Foreign Office has not issued an official warning.

Head of the Tunisian Federation of Travel Agencies Mohammed Ali Toumi told Bloomberg: "This tragedy is worse than the attack on Bardo. Hotels may close their doors and hotel owners may go bankrupt. Around 700 travel agencies that employ 14,000 people will be affected by this terrorist attack."

Travel agencies TUI and Thomas Cook were among the biggest casualties of the FTSE 100 companies on Monday (29 June) and airlines IAG and Easyjet saw their share price fall as well.

According to the BBC, thousands of customers have booked emergency flights out of the country after the attack, and both Thomson and First Choice announced they have cancelled all their flights to Tunisia until 4 July.

Thomas Cook customers who planned on flying to Tunisia were told they could amend their flights free of charge until Saturday (4 June).

However, the Telegraph's travel consumer advice expert Nick Trend said in a liveblog: "In theory, unless the Foreign Office advises against travel to Tunisia, or the areas that holidaymakers are travelling to, those who are due to depart for the resorts – including Sousse, where the shootings took place – have no option but to go or lose their money.

"Tour operators are entitled to uphold their booking conditions and cite Foreign Office advice that the resorts are safe."

About 15% of workers in Tunisia have jobs directly or indirectly linked to tourism, and the attacks in 2015 will have a serious impact on the country's economy.

Tunisian Governance Association president Moez Joudi told Bloomberg: "The terrorists understand the importance of tourism to the Tunisian economy, and they acted accordingly."